Woelfl's Wohnung

[calyptorhynchus]

I've been listening to works by Joseph Woelfl (1773–1812), particularly String Quartets, Piano Concertos and Symphonies.

I've been listening on Youtube, and it seems that practically everything of his that has been recoded is on Youtube. I've added several of the disks to my 'must purchase list', but I'm between jobs atm and trying not to spend money.

Anyway Woelfl was a virtuoso pianist who was born in Austria, worked in Vienna and Paris and ended up in London. His Piano Concertos are Mozartian without being pastiches and stand up well to the comparison (just lacking the sheer divinity of Mozart's works). The best in my humble opinion are 2 and 3.

He seems only to have written two symphonies that have survived (Op 40 and Op 41) which are solid late Classical works. His string quartets are likewise well-crafted and interesting, the best being the Op 4 quartets and Op 10 No.1 in my opinion.

There is quite a bit of piano music to explore too.

Anyway, worth listening to. Two of his traits that are endearing to me is that he seems to veer into the minor mode in major mode compositions much more frequently that other classical composers, and there is a general cheerful folkiness about his music.

[Gurn Blanston]

I've been listening to works by Joseph Woelfl (1773–1812), particularly String Quartets, Piano Concertos and Symphonies.

I've been listening on Youtube, and it seems that practically everything of his that has been recoded is on Youtube. I've added several of the disks to my 'must purchase list', but I'm between jobs atm and trying not to spend money.

Anyway Woelfl was a virtuoso pianist who was born in Austria, worked in Vienna and Paris and ended up in London. His Piano Concertos are Mozartian without being pastiches and stand up well to the comparison (just lacking the sheer divinity of Mozart's works). The best in my humble opinion are 2 and 3.

He seems only to have written two symphonies that have survived (Op 40 and Op 41) which are solid late Classical works. His string quartets are likewise well-crafted and interesting, the best being the Op 4 quartets and Op 10 No.1 in my opinion.

There is quite a bit of piano music to explore too.

Anyway, worth listening to. Two of his traits that are endearing to me is that he seems to veer into the minor mode in major mode compositions much more frequently that other classical composers, and there is a general cheerful folkiness about his music.

I love the music I have by Woelfl, which is most of the pianoforte sonatas (those played by Laure Colladant are very nice!), a disk of concertos (1, 5 & 6) but on modern instruments, pianoforte & harp duets at which he excelled, string quartets including Op 4 played by the Mosaiques. Woelfl is probably best known for a famous piano duel he had with Beethoven, which everyone present who was not a Beethoven fan said he played to a standoff. Like Gyrowetz in Mozart's generation, Woelfl was the genteel version of Beethoven, someone you would invite to your house to teach your daughter how to play piano.

[Scion7]

I've been listening to works by Joseph Woelfl (1773–1812), ...

I probably have the same material you and Gurn have.  I have not given his music a thorough listen, but have it stored away for the day I will address it.  He has a decent article in The New Grove.

[Scion7]

from The New Grove:


Wölfl [Wölffl, Woelfl], Joseph
(b Salzburg, 24 Dec 1773; d London, 21 May 1812). Austrian pianist and composer. His earliest musical instruction was as a chorister at Salzburg Cathedral from 1783 to 1786, where he studied with Leopold Mozart and Michael Haydn. In 1790, on his father's advice, he went to Vienna, apparently to study with the younger Mozart, though it is unclear whether he ever became his pupil and how close their relationship actually was. Some authorities claim, however, that it was through Mozart's intervention that Wölfl was appointed composer to Count Ogiski in Warsaw, ...